Landscape Stereo Field Touch Synthesizer

Stereo Field is an instrument which allows its user to manipulate and patch two analog stereo circuits directly via touch plates utilizing skin conductivity as new paths for the circuit to follow essentially creating new circuits and new sounds in relation to where your fingers are patching. The individual touch plates are directly connected to nearly every connection point of every component in its circuitry (located directly under each corresponding touch plate). When touched it will create analog synthesized audio with either of the two mirrored circuits represented by the interlocking circles. These parallel mirrored circuits can be "patched" separately or together yielding vastly different results in regards to texture, timbre and stereo imaging.

This instrument has the ability to create atonal synth tones in stereo (and quad) as well as process incoming stereo audio (and quad) sources via 1/4" and 3.5mm ins and outs. Incoming audio sources can be "patched" or rewoven into any area of either or both of the circuits via skin contact.The input volume knobs shape and effect distortion and drive amounts and behave slightly differently when given a mono input signal versus a stereo signal. The quad inputs and outputs via the 3.5mm jacks have small touch plates leading to and from allowing for touch access of each of the 4 inputs and 4 outputs. If multiple audio signals are traveling into the Stereo Field these audio sources can be intermingled and can modulate one another.

Sending CV signals into the 3.5mm input jacks will open up many more possibilities both in terms of synthesized sounds and audio processing. The Stereo Field can also be used as a sort of lo-fi controlled random source when using the 3.5mm outputs to send CV to your modular system. Due to the nature of feedback and finger patching the 4x available CV signals have the ability to get incredibly complex in nature (see audio examples below in use with a euro-rack system). Because of the open nature of Stereo Field it can both send and receive CV modulation simultaneously. In addition this can all be happening while your finger patching is changing and altering the incoming and outgoing CV while also processing incoming audio. These ins and outs can also be patched together with cables for sustained tones with the pitch/rhythm/volume/cutoff being affected by adjusting the incoming and outgoing volume knobs in various settings. Inter-patching in this way will also allow for sustained pulse beats and filter like sound shaping in addition to bringing new results to patching via the touch plates. Most importantly, processed audio and synthesized audio are available simultaneously with the ability to influence and modulate each other. This will often blur the lines between the two; who is manipulating who? who comes out on top as audio and who is modulation? This can be a constantly evolving cycle based upon where the performers fingers are placed and highly sensitive skin contact or "pressure" changes.

The sound is sometimes easy to describe; (distortion, filtering, feedback, square wave, pulse width modulation, rhythms, wave-folding, frequency modulation, amplitude modulation, spacial shifts, panning, sub octaves, pitch following) but most of the time these definitions fall "between effects" or in combinations of multiple effects that can be shifting, feeding back or pulsing in sync with incoming audio during processing. Since the user is directly touching analog circuitry through copper touch plates, shifts in pitch/timbre/stereo/drive/modulation can be accessed instantly. The stereo (or quad) imaging of the instrument is both influenced by feedback and modulation in regards to where your fingertips are patching along with modulation caused by incoming audio content. In addition to the sheer number of patching and finger pressure combinations available, the instrument has shown theremin-esk properties in certain settings due to the large surface area of the gold plates. To bring this even a step further it the synth tones can be triggered by only breathing on the plates using breath control to sculpt the audio.